New store brings sweet combination to E.L.

When religious studies junior Sara Lone returned to MSU this fall, she returned as both a student and as the manager of a store she helped bring to downtown East Lansing.

Lone spent the summer working at Be You in Midland, a store specializing in custom T-shirts, body jewelry and purses. And after she found the building at 618 E. Grand River Ave. up for lease, she contacted the owner of Be You and Sugar Daddy’s, a candy store, who agreed to bring a combination store closer to the MSU community.

“There were a lot of people who were like ‘Why don’t you open up a store in Lansing?’” Lone said. “People would come to visit us (and say) that we needed to make one (here).”

Be You and Sugar Daddy’s are scheduled to open Wednesday or Thursday and hours have not been finalized, she said.

Although other stores in the area offer similar services, Mike Sullivan, the store’s owner, said Sugar Daddy’s and Be You will bring something different to the students.

“We try not to compete with other stores,” Sullivan said. “We try to offer a different product besides our competition … we offer a different kind of candy — candy you can’t find in most other places.”

The store’s selection includes 66 different types of candy, including two-pound jaw breakers and Jelly Belly jelly beans. The store also offers slush puppies — a type of snow cone — and cotton candy. The T-shirt business also is unique in the sense that shirts do not have to be bought in bulk and only take about 20 seconds to make, Lone said.

Be You is planning to offer a piercing service beginning in January and is looking to hire a tattoo artist, she said.

Family community service junior Andrea Wackerle said she will visit the store at least once. The fact it is managed by a MSU student makes a difference, she said.

“It’ll be more personal for a college student going in there, instead of (having) to deal with some crusty old guy,” Wackerle said.

However, she said she is unsure about one store offering so much variety.

“I guess it depends on how good they are at it — if it’s just a little hodgepodge of everything and they’re not good at producing any of them, then I think they should just specialize in one of them,” she said.

Because the store is not a part of a corporation, it has the freedom to be more flexible to what students want, Lone said. She said managers plan to have a suggestion box for new candy students would like ordered.

James Madison College assistant professor Michael Craw said the objects sold have a common theme: They are luxury items that are not essential to students.

“It sounds like it’s a fun combination of things to try to appeal to MSU students,” Craw said.

But history junior Ryan Peterson said because of his budget, he does not think he will visit the store.

“There isn’t much I’d be buying this year … that’s an extraneous purchase,” he said.